"Alabama U.S. Sen. Doug Jones sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday, criticizing President Donald Trump‘s proposed 25 percent tariffs on imported autos and auto parts into the United States.

The letter argues that rather than helping the United States economy or improving national security, the tariffs will cost jobs and threaten the growth of the automotive manufacturing sector in the Southeast.

'Auto manufacturers and suppliers employ nearly 200,000 of our constituents and that number is growing. These are good jobs employing American workers. Over the past several years the automotive industry, including foreign manufacturers, has invested billions in our states and created thousands of jobs,' wrote Jones, along with Tennessee U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.

They continued, 'We share with you and President Trump the goal of bolstering our nation’s security and making sure that our trade policy is balanced and works for American workers and businesses. We are worried though that tariffs on the automotive industry will serve neither of these purposes, and instead put hundreds of thousands of American jobs at risk including many in our home states.'